Hair curler with crossed gripping bristles



P 7, 1965 c. R. CHAMBERLIN 3,204,646

HAIR CURLER WITH CROSSED GRIPPING BRISTLES Filed Dec. 11, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Cole/g a 7?. Chamber/m Sept. 7, 1965 c. R. CHAMBERLIN HAIR CURLER WITH CROSSED GRIPPING BRISTLES Filed Dec. 11, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1.:7. II II II II II II I United States Patent 3,204,646 HAIR CURL'ER WITH 'CROSSE'D GRIPPING BRISTLES Coleman R. Chamberlin, Thompson Ridge, N.Y. (R0. Box 1266, New Windsor, Newburgh, N.Y.) Filed Dec. 11, 1964, Ser. No. 417,681 3 Claims. (Cl. 132-42) This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 273,981, now abandoned.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in hair curlers adapted for use in either beauty parlors or in the home. The invention consists broadly in a hair curler for gripping the hair strands while being wound therearound and for holding the so-formed curl in position thereupon, that includes a hollow flexible resilient open mesh plastic material tube of substantially uniform cross-sectional area throughout and a plastic fabric-like sleeve cover fixed around said tube carrying pairs of opposing radially-extending self-locking plastic hooked cocklebur type bristles. The hair curler is worn temporarily in the hair and is utilized by winding tress or strands of hair therearound. It includes a hollow open mesh resilient tubular member, molded or extruded by well-known molding or extruding methods, of a thermoplastic organic resinous material, such as polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, or the like, which tubular member is, in itself, because of the very nature of its material, reinforced and relatively stiff or semi-stiif but resilient and flexible. Sleeved around the tubular member is a flexible cover of thermoplastic organic resinous material, such as polystyrene, nylon, polypropylene and the like. From the surface of the cover protrude pairs of opposing crossed radially-extending hooked cocklebur type flexible bristles of the same cover material, the bristles being held firmly but resilient and the bristles of each pair being opposed and spaced from one another. The turned over or' hooked ends of the bristles forming the cocklebur hooks curved through one half a circle or one hundred and eighty degrees, to present a soft comfortable or rounded touch to the skin when being used in the hair.

The principal object of the present invention is accordingly to provide a pair curler comprising a hollow resilient flexible, open mesh plastic-like material tube of substantially uniform cross-sectional area, and in combination therewith afabric-like sleeve covering the tube provided with radially-extending plastic resilient, flexible bristles having hooked cocklebur ends, whereby said curler combination, when positioned and worked on the head and during the drawing, pulling and forming of thecurled and retained continuously throughout the length of the hair curler.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a hair curler which will positively hook or look the hair at the beginning of each curling operation and which tightly locks each turn of the curl to the end thereof, and in which the cocklebur or hook projections will be crossed when depressed with the hair to upon release, lock the hair strands under the cocklebur ends.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a hair curler with the above objects in mind which is simple in construction, of minimum weight, easy to use, effective "ice for its intended purposes and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference may be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a. material part of this disclosure:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective and collective view of a hair curler embodying the features of the present invention and showing an elastic band to be used therewith,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a fragment of the fabric sleeve cover of the curler having the spaced pairs of opposing projections or bristles,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinally-extending sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows thereof,

FIG. 4 is a further enlarged perspective view of a fragment of the fabric sleeve cover,

FIG. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the fabric sleeve cover removed from the open mesh tube and in flatwise condition,

FIG. 6 is atop plan view of the curler of FIG. 1 illustrating in phantom how the curler is applied to a tress of hair and further showing the curler with the hair started under cockel-bur ends and prior to being depressed and locked thereunder,

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 88 of FIG. 6, with strands of the hair and the cocklebur projections having been depressed and the hair strands and opposing projections locked with one another,

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the hair curler applied finally to a curl of hair and wound to the scalp with an elastic in operative position thereon to obtain the final winding and turn of the hair and the curler close to the scalp,

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing a narrow tress of hair wound in spiral formationon the curler without the need at the end of the curling operation for having to apply the rubber elastic since all turns of the spiral curl will be self-locked to the curler projections.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, in FIG. 1 a hair curler embodying the features of the invention is shown and designated generally by the reference numeral 10. The curler 10 comprises a hollow open mesh tubular member or tube 12 of relatively stiff or semi-stifl but flexible and resilient plastic material, such as thermoplastic organic resinous material of polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon or the like. Hollow member 12 is generally cylindrical in shape and of uniform diameter throughout. The material of the tubular member 12 is molded to provide an open mesh body, the openings 13 allowing for effective ventilation of the curler. Spaced notches 14 are formed in the opposite end edges of the tubular member 12.

A fabric cover 16 is sleeved around the hollow tubular member 12 and in tight fitted contact therewith with its ends stitched together at 17, FIG. 2. The cover 16 has the shape or form similar to that of hollow tubular member 12 and likewise is cylindrical and of uniform diameter j throughout its length. This cover serves as a reinforcing member for the hollow tubular member 12. It is shorter in length than the tubular member 12, leaving a smooth clearance 18 at each end of the tubular member 12 from the inner ends of the notches 14. This cover fabric is formed of crossed threads woven together and impreg- .3 nated with thermoplastic organic resinous material such as polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon or the like. The sleeve is formed from a rectangular strip 20 shown in FIG. that is wrapped about the tubular member 12 and the end edges stitched to hold the same secure upon the tube 12.

According to the invention, there are stitched and fixedly embedded in the material of the fabric cover 16, pairs of opposing bristles or projections 22 formed of plastic threads so fixed to the cover so as to be selfsupporting but resilient and when released from being depressed return to their projected and hair engaging positions. Each bristle 22 comprises an elongated plastic thread or strand 26 narrow and round in crosssection and radiating outwardly at a slant, the end of each strand terminating in cocklebur or hook 30 pointing in directions opposed to each other. The hook ends 30 project through and outwardly from the material of the cover and the pairs are arranged in spaced rows, the strands 26 of each pair crossing intermediate their length with one another and the hooks 30 pointing in opposite directions and opening inwardly. The radiating strands or projections 26 are especially effective because of their short length, it being contemplated that the ends should project generally not more than about twenty to thirty hair diameters above the outer face of the sleeve cover 16 or not more than about .10 inch. It will be noted that the rows of bristles are uniformly spaced over the surface of the sleeve except at each end where the rows are closer together and bunched as indicated at 31.

The hair is fixed to the bristles by depressing them radially inwardly to be collected by the hooked ends 30, the filaments falling thereunder. The uniformity of spacing of the plastic bristles causes the hair in use to be gripped by the bristles uniformly throughout the greater length of the cover 16, and to greater extent at the ends by the more closely spaced bristles 31 making for an even smooth curl throughout. The punched bristles at the ends of the cover prevent the tress or curl from slipping sidewise off of the curler 10. The cocklebur or hooks 30 on the ends of thread projections 26 grip and interlock with the filaments of hair thereby holding the hair securely but releasably in position on the curler, the curler being released from the hair by pulling the curler laterally so the hair filaments leave from under the cocklebur ends 30.

The hair filaments at 28 are locked in the pockets 34 by depressing the hair and the crossed projections from positions shown in FIG. 7 to position shown in FIG. 8. The projections will be locked down by the hair and bases of the projection engaging the undersides of the hair filaments collected in the hooked end 30. Other portions of the hair filaments not engaged by the hooked ends 30 will pass over them. Since the hooked ends extend through substantially a half turn of a circle or 180 degrees they are soft and smooth upon the scalp, 33.

In using the curler 10, the body of the curler is placed against the outer end of a tress of hair 32 of the user. The hair filaments are manually pressed by the user against the body of the curler thereby initially locating a portion of the hair filaments of the tress under the hook ends 30 as shown in FIG. 7. The curler and the tress or strands of hair are then rolled along the tress inwardly toward the scalp 33 whereby the projections 26 cross slide with further pressure over each other, the hook 30 of one end thereby carrying the hair filaments thereunder toward the base of the adjacent projection 26 thereby forming a substantially closed pocket 34 and locking the filaments therewithin as shown in FIG. 8 so that the curler is fixedly secured in position on the scalp 33 of the user. An opposite locking of the hair filament is similarly had at the opposite side of the-pair of projections. The hook ends 30 constitute one bristle or projection pushing the hair filaments against the hook 30 of the elementary clamp, This clamping effect of the hook ends 30 on a part or initial turn at least of the hair wound on the curler ensures the maintenance of the whole lock of rolled-up hair. The complete lock of rolled-up hair is finally secured by an elastic strip 36 stretched over and along the curler body and held by ball ends 38 formed thereon and caught in the V-shaped notches 14. The bristles or projections 26 and the elastic 36 hold the curler in fixed position relative to the scalp 33 until the moistened hair has been sufficiently dried to retain the shape of the curl, the hair curls having been sprayed or set with moistening liquid and left until dry.

The removal of the curler 10 is effected simply by releasing the elastic 36 and unwinding the lock of hair, this operation being effected without dimculty by reason of the fact that the hair does not remain hooked in the flexible hook ends 30 but slides laterally easily out from thereunder with the bristle flexing sufficiently to allow the removal of the hair.

In FIG. 10, a narrow tress 32' of hair is shown wound around the curler 10 in corkscrew or helical fashion so that extraneous gripping means such as the elastic 36 is not needed to keep the lock of hair against unwinding,

each turn being fixed to the curler by the full depressing of the hair at each turn into the hook ends 30 of the projections 26.

It should be understood that the curler is more or less self-contained and that the need for the rubber elastic strip 36 is only when used with stubborn hair and when extra long when more than one or two turns of hair are made upon the curler. Also the curler can be of large diameter for large curls wherein but a single turn of the hair need to be made thereof and the curler thus becomes readily self-contained without need of elastic strip 36.

The porous plastic fabric sleeve 20 may be made of material such as that known in the trade as Velco or may be of fully molded form providing the hook projections integral with the sleeve material itself.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise construction herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hair curler adapted to be positioned temporarily in a wearers hair to form a hair curl, comprising an open mesh cylindrical body of semi-rigid but deformable plastic material, a porous plastic fabric sleeve of less length than the cylindrical body extended about said cylindrical body, the said porous plastic sleeve having pairs of radially-outwardly extending crossed cocklebur-type bristles, the bristles of each pair having hooked outer ends, the ends pointing in opposite directions, each hooked end crossing substantially in contact with the adjacent crossed bristle to retain and interlock hair filaments wound about the curler.

2. A hair curler adapted to be positioned temporarily in a wearers hair to form a hair curl, said curler comprising an open mesh cylindrical body of semi-rigid plastic material, a plastic sleeve of less length than the cylindrical body on said body, rows of resilient bristles in spaced relation around the outer surface of said sleeve, projecting outwardly of the surface of the sleeve in spaced relation therearound, said bristles having hooked outer ends, the hooked ends of the bristles of one row crossing substantially in contact with the hooked ends of the bristles of an adjacent row and pointing in opposite directions whereby the hooked ends coact with the base of the bristles to clamp hair filaments and fix them to the curler.

3. A hair curler adapted to be positioned temporarily in a wearers hair to form a hair curl, said curler com- ,prising an open mesh cylindrical body of semi-rigid plas- 5 6 around the outer surface of said sleeve, said units includ- References Cited by the Examiner ing elongated strands, the bodies of which are embedded UNITED STATES PATENTS in the material of the body of the cover, the ends of the 2369752 2/45 Ostrander 132421 odles pr0 ect1ng through and outwardly of the outer sur- 3 050 070 8/62 Sidelman face of the body of the cover, said ends terminating in 5 3123080 3/64 gg 'g hooks, the hooks of one row of ends crossing substantially u in contact with the hooks of the adjacent row of ends FOREIGN PATENTS whereby the said hooks of one row coact with the ends 1,247,890 10/60 France. of the adjacent row to clamp hair filaments against the 1,24 6 11/60 France. body of the curler. 1o

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. 

1. A HAIR CURLER ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED TEMPORARIALY IN A WEARER''S HAIR TO FORM A HAIR CURL, COMPRISING AN OPEN MESH CYLINDRICAL BODY OF SEMI-RIGID BUT DEFORMABLE PLASTIC MATERIAL, A POROUS PLASTIC FABRIC SLEEVE OF LESS LENGTH THAN THE CYLINDRICAL BODY EXTENDED ABOUT SAID CYLINDRICAL BODY, THE SAID POROUS PLASTIC SLEEVE HAVING PAIRS OF RADIALLY-OUTWARDLY EXTENDING CROSSED COCKLEBUR-TYPE BRISTLES, THE BRISTLES OF EACH PAIR HAVING HOOKED OUTER ENDS, THE ENDS POINTING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, EACH HOOKED END CROSSING SUBSTANTIALLY IN CONTACT WITH THE ADJACENT CROSSED BRISTLE TO RETAING AND INTERLOCK HAIR FILAMENTS WOUND ABOUT THE CURLER. 